274 e lusive v ictories
implicit in Bush’s goal of establishing a liberal, democratic Iraq, the
military requirements for a successful invasion were not reconciled with
his ambitious peace-building agenda. Th e military force used to topple
Saddam Hussein proved insuffi cient for postwar security and recon-
struction. When U.S. troops faced a widening insurgency in the months
after they ousted Saddam, the initial decisions could not be undone.
The war drifted, directionless, while Bush contented himself with
exhortations to his subordinates to remain fi rm and warnings to the
American public that defeat would open the door to terrorism here.
Th ree years into the war—as casualties mounted, sectarian violence
worsened in Iraq, and support at home eroded—even the president
could no longer deny that his approach was failing. By that point,
though, few options remained on the table, and all came with a high
political price.
Faced with the prospect of defeat, Bush fi nally asserted some active
control over the Iraq War, and in so doing managed to stave off disaster.
He listened, as it were, to his “inner Lincoln.” Against the view of his
own top military people, many key advisors, and a broad range of
political fi gures, the president decided to send to Iraq the few addi-
tional troops who could be made available and appoint a new com-
mander who would pursue a different operational approach. New
tactics and unexpected developments in Iraq, notably the willingness of
many insurgents to cooperate with U.S. forces against their extremist
enemies, yielded a signifi cant lessening of violence. Iraq seemed to have
stepped away from the edge of an abyss. Gone, though, was the hope of
establishing there the kind of government that might spark the political
transformation of the Middle East. And by then the American people
had turned their backs on the war.
U n fi nished Business, Unexpected Opportunity
When George H. W. Bush decided to respond forcefully to Iraq’s
invasion of Kuwait in 1990, he hoped not only to expel Saddam Hussein
from the territory his troops had conquered but to see the dictator
toppled from power. Th e United States deployed a massive military
force to the Persian Gulf under General Norman Schwarzkopf, com-
mander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Th rough patient